Entrapment
by Tempest2004
Summary: When Phoebe, Paige, Leo and Zankou become trapped in the manor by a vengeful Barbas (Again), with Piper and the boys out of the house, they turn to Grams, but as danger looms, a forbidden romance begins. Pairings: PiperLeo, PaigeKyle and PhoebeZankou. Rat
1. Default Chapter

This is my first Charmed Fic. I want to say first thing, that while I am a huge fan and supporter of Phoebe/Cole, I am a huge advocate of unusual couples and Phoebe/Zankou is perfect, plus, in Phoebe's vision, her daughter was dark-haired and she didn't look like Leslie and Phoebe would never take Cole back. So I just made a guess and this fic was born. Paige/Kyle and Piper/Leo are also in this fic. Enjoy!

Phoebe looked around, everything was here for Wyatt's birthday party. Her eyes fell on a picture of her and Cole, her heart ached briefly for her lost love, then she idly wondered what would happen should her demonic ex-husband meet her two-year-old nephew.

"Chaos." Phoebe muttered.

Paige looked up from printing invitations on Phoebe's laptop. "What was that, honey?" she asked.

Phoebe shook her head "Nothing, Paige." she smiled faintly.

Paige looked unconvinced, but turned back to the computer.

Leo ran into the room looking frantic.

"What is it, Leo?" Paige asked, getting up, just as Phoebe's laptop blew up.

"Demon!" he yelled and ducked a fireball. Three demons walked in and blew the decorations up and threw another at Paige.

"Fireball!" Paige called for the fireball and threw it back, it vanquished the demon, but the other two shimmered out.

"The decorations! My laptop!" Phoebe cried in dismay at the wrecked items.

"Zankou, you think?" Paige asked.

"I don't think so." Leo shook his head as he replied.

"And why not?" Phoebe demanded, looking at her ruined laptop and the decorations, she was thinking not only about Wyatt, but about her column.

"I had nothing to do with this, I'm dealing with problems of my own." Zankou snapped. He looked awful, his hair was singed and his clothes were ripped.

"Like?"

"Being attacked at every turn. I was thinking it was you three, until I saw this." he gestured at the mess.

"Oh, really? And why should we believe you?" Paige demanded.

Zankou opened his mouth to retort angrily, but thought better of it and controlled his temper. "Now why would I do something so stupid as to come here, when it was me? Do you think I'd really do something like this to myself? Or have someone else do it? Do I look that stupid to you?" he growled, very nearly controlling his temper. Phoebe stepped in.

"Come on, everyone, relax. Paige, you and Zankou stay down here, Leo and I will check the Book. And try not to kill each other." she warned as she and Leo disappeared upstairs.

Zankou stood stiffly as Paige sat down on the couch, she glanced in irritation at him. "You can sit down, you know." she said.

He sank into a chair, exhaustion evident. "Who were the decorations for?" he asked, trying to be civil. Then looked around curiously.

"Wyatt's birthday party, now what are we gonna do?"

"Let me."

"What?"

"Since good is obviously bound by the Personal Gain rule, let me fix it. Its the least I can do for suspecting you, when you ladies obviously didn't do it." Zankou shrugged and waved his hand, the decorations and Phoebe's laptop were fixed.

"Cool."

"Very." he leaned back in the chair.

"We have an idea whodunit." Phoebe called, Zankou sat up.

"Whodunit?" Paige asked with a grin.

"Barbas."

"Again? Didn't we already vanquish him?" Paige asked in disgust.

"He did say he'd come back." Phoebe shrugged.

Leo glanced at the clock, then at the decorations. "Shouldn't Piper, Wyatt and Chris be back by now? And who fixed the decorations?" he asked, the first worriedly and the second curiously.

Zankou raised a hand slightly. "I did, it was no problem. I figured I had to apologize somehow for suspecting you three, so..." he shrugged. Phoebe smiled.

"And my laptop too, thank you." she grinned, he looked at it closely for a minute.

"That was a happy accident."

"Yeah, I would loved to have seen how you would have explained that to Elise though," she did an impression of Phoebe. " 'My laptop's, uh, hard drive exploded. Heh, heh.' " Paige smiled and Phoebe looked indignant while Leo chuckled and Zankou only smiled.

"Anyway, back to the subject," Phoebe prodded gently, they nodded and returned to the subject. "Where were Piper, Wyatt and Chris going?" Phoebe asked.

Leo looked worried. "To Chinatown to restock our herbs."

"Maybe they got stuck in traffic?" Paige put in helpfully.

"It's possible, lemme try Piper's cell." Phoebe left the room, leaving Leo, Paige and Zankou in an uncomfortable silence.

"So what's your history with Barbas?" Zankou asked, Leo grimaced.

"Not pretty, that much is sure. The first time we ran into him was on Friday the 13th, he tricked Phoebe to a house, she was working at a real estate office at the time, by pretending to be interested in buying it, he almost drowned Prue, but she swears that their mother saved them. Prue vanquished him that time, then when a hit was ordered on the girls by him through a mortal, Prue had to go undercover to get him, he got away that time. It's been a mess since, then he popped back up and tricked Paige into giving him Cole's powers after Cole stripped them. Cole took them back, when he didn't have to and vanquished Barbas, again. He convinced the magical council to take Phoebe's power, and I'll say this now where she can't hear me, it was actually for the best, anyway, he was released from purgatory. Then he showed up again and helped Gideon," Leo snarled the name. "Helped Gideon kidnap Wyatt and kill Chris. Or, big Chris. Then he tricked me into killing another Elder. It's never been easy." Leo shook his head.

"I see what you mean." Zankou said sympathetically, Paige shook her head as Phoebe walked in.

"She is stuck in traffic."

"Well, that's a relief." Leo sighed, unfortunately the relief didn't last long, when a familiarly chilling voice echoed from the sun room.

"But that's not the least of your worries." Phoebe swore vehemently. Barbas appeared with a smug grin.

"Ah, ah, watch your language." he said and threw a fireball.

Zankou intercepted it with one of his own and threw his own at him, Barbas flamed out. With a snarl, Zankou tried to flame out as well, but ended up back at the same place.

"What the hell?" he looked at Paige, Phoebe and Leo.

"I'm blocking you, you can't get out." Barbas said smugly.

"Damn." Zankou echoed Phoebe from before.

"Now what?" Paige asked rhetorically.

"How did you beat him the first time?" Leo asked.

"With Cole's help." Paige admitted.

Phoebe's eyes widened. "I have an idea."

"We can't summon Cole, he's dead."

"Not Cole, but what about Grams?" she suggested.

Paige blinked. "Think it'll work?"

"All we can do it try, come on, let's get to the Book." Phoebe said as she and Paige raced upstairs, Leo and Zankou followed more slowly.

"Is it always like this?" Zankou asked. Leo nodded.

"Usually."

"No wonder we always lose."

Leo laughed...

Phoebe finished lighting the candles as Zankou and Leo stood back.

"_Hear my words, hear my cries, spirit from the otherside, come to me, I summon thee, cross now the great divide_." Paige and Phoebe intoned, white orbs swirled and Grams appeared and walked out of the circle, and embraced Paige and Piper.

"My girls, wheres Piper, Wyatt and Chris? And whats he doing here?" she asked, pointing at Zankou, who muttered something under his breath. Penny looked at him the same way she did when the girls were in trouble and weren't telling her.

"What was that?" she asked, Zankou replied quickly, though he didn't know why.

"Nothing." Leo snickered, Penny turned that same look on him.

"Something funny, dear?" Leo hurriedly shook his head.

"Nothing." it was Zankou's turn to snicker. Phoebe smiled at the two. Grams had that affect on everyone.

"Now, what's wrong?"

"We're trapped in the manor by Barbas."

"Oh, him. A simple power of three spell will do the trick. Now, where's Piper and the boys?"

"Stuck in traffic." Paige said. Penny sighed.

"So you girls summoned me because...?"

"We need your help."

"Ah, so, what exactly do you need my help with?"

"Writing a spell to get us out of here." Phoebe offered.

"You have a perfectly good demon, right here, use him." Penny said and gestured to Zankou, who looked indignant and about to say something really stupid, when Leo elbowed him.

"Don't start, you won't win." he warned. With a frustrated look Zankou snorted and closed his mouth disgustedly.

"Smart." Leo said in a low tone, Zankou shook his head.

"Well, now that that's settled. What did you have in mind?"

"We were kind of hoping you could help." Paige said with a small grin. Penny shook her head.

"All right, get something to write on, we have a spell to whip up. Phoebe, Zankou, go start a potion. Paige, Leo and I will write the spell." Penny said. Phoebe and Zankou both nodded and headed for the stairs, but Penny stopped them.

"You might want to Shimmer or Flame or whatever it is you do instead, he's probably waiting at the stairs." Penny added as an afterthought, Zankou nodded, put a hand on Phoebe's shoulder and flamed them to the kitchen...

"Hand me the Thyme." Phoebe said and held her hand out, Zankou looked in the cabinet.

"You don't have any."

"Stop being funny."

"I'm not, I'm serious, you don't have any." Zankou said, Phoebe turned around in surprise, then groaned.

"I forgot, that's what was Piper was doing in Chinatown, we needed more supplies."

"Now what?" Zankou asked rhetorically. Phoebe sighed.

"We'll have to wing it, What do we have?"

"Lets see, Ginger, Echinacea, Goldenrod. Goldenrod?" Zankou asked with a grin.

"Piper uses it for a little color in the cabinet."

"Ah. Okay, um, Toadstool, St. Johns Wart and Clover. Oh, and Dandelions. Why Dandelions?"

"Piper wanted to try making Dandelion wine, Grams used to."

"That explains quite a bit." Zankou chuckled, Phoebe shook her head.

"Demons."

"Witches."

"Anyway," Phoebe said loudly. "Get 'em down and I'll see what I can do with them." she sighed.

About an hour later, Zankou was sitting at the table, watching Phoebe make a potion, or trying too. It kept blowing up in her face.

"I still think you're putting too much St. Johns Wart in." he suggested for the third time.

"Hey, we still have some nutso Cole vanquishing potion left, all three kinds of them, don't make me use them." she warned. Zankou raised his hands in surrender.

"Sorry. Hey, that's not a half-bad idea."

"What, vanquishing you?"

"No, trying to combine the potions. It might work. Where are they?" he said, getting up from the chair.

"In the freezer." she said and pointed to the Fridge. Zankou opened it and raised both eyebrows, there were enough potions here to last an eternity.

"Which ones?"

"All of them."

"Geez, expecting an army, were you?" he asked as he pulled three out.

"No and no, all of the potion bottles." Phoebe replied.

"You three were crazy." he shook his head.

"Nope, just really irritated at Cole at the time."

"And what about me? What am I? Chopped liver?" Barbas asked. Zankou whirled and hurled an energy ball at him, Barbas ducked and chucked an energy ball at Phoebe. It caught her in the leg, she yelped. With a snarl, Zankou threw two this time. Barbas flamed out and both hit the wall, leaving scorch marks. He hurried over to Phoebe.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I just wish Leo could still heal us."

"Me too." Zankou muttered to himself and helped Phoebe to a chair...

To Be Continued...


	2. Spells, Potions and Demons

Sorry it took so long to continue this, I got distracted I accidentally erased the original version of this chapter, so that was a set back, I finally just sat down and started writing, this just came out. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, everything belongs to the actors and Brad Kern and Aaron Spelling

----------------------------------------------------

Zankou helped Phoebe to a chair and checked her ankle. It was only a graze, but from the way she winced when he ran his fingers over it, it stung.

"Do you want to go up now or let me finish the potion?" Zankou asked, Phoebe frowned and thought.

"Finish the potion. Okay, thaw all of the potions and combine them, carefully into a pan and add..." Phoebe trailed off as she mentally listed all of the herbs they had on hand. "Three table spoons of St. Johns Wart and Ginger." Phoebe ordered. Figuring she knew what she was talking about, Zankou combined all 20 potions and added the St. Johns Wart and Ginger. He leaned back as the mixture exploded. Phoebe nodded at the result and suppressed a giggle at the look on Zankou's face. He looked like a firecracker had exploded in his face, his face was covered in soot.

"Women." He muttered to himself and poured the potion into three different vials.

"Well, how do you want to do this?" Zankou demanded, Phoebe took the potions and stuffed them in a basket she had removed the decorative flowers from. She extended a hand to Zankou, who took it and pulled her up.

"Excuse me." She said and slid her arm around his neck. He automatically slipped an arm around her waist. Ignoring the feeling in the pit of her stomach, Phoebe nodded to Zankou.

"Let's go up." she ordered. It took all she had not to cry out as they were enveloped in a brilliant heat. When she opened her eyes, Zankou helped her to the couch. Grams glared at him.

"What did you do to my granddaughter?" she demanded, Zankou was about to respond when Phoebe spoke up.

"It wasn't him, it was Barbas. One of Barbas' energy balls grazed my ankle. Zankou finished the potion and brought me back up." Grams didn't look convinced, but nodded anyway. Leo looked at Phoebe's ankle and whistled lowly.

"Zankou, go get the iodine and some bandages." Leo ordered. Muttering to himself, Zankou left the attic and went to find one of the bathrooms. It was Paige's.

"The logical place is...The medicine cabinet." Zankou said and opened the door. And quickly closed it. He took a deep breath, opened the door and grabbed the iodine and bandages and closed it again.

"I'd rather face The Source again." he shook his head and walked down the hall, passing Phoebe's bedroom and resisted the urge to look inside. He walked in front of the mirror and stopped to look. He frowned and wiped away the soot. _You like her don't you?_ a voice in his head asked, Zankou frowned and shook his head. "I'm losing my mind." Zankou muttered and returned upstairs. Paige and Grams were bending over the book, scribbling away, occasionally erasing and re-scribbling. Zankou handed the iodine and bandages to Leo and watched absently as Leo worked on Phoebe's ankle.

"Thank you, for in the kitchen. You didn't have to." Phoebe said, wincing as the iodine stung her wound.

"If we're to survive, we need to work together." Zankou said and walked over to look out the window...

-------------Piper and the Boys------------------

Piper smacked her hand against the steering wheel, wishing for the umpteenth time that the traffic would actually move. Thankfully the boys were asleep, it was quite late and Piper just wanted to get home. What had started out as a quick trip to Chinatown for supplies had turned into an all day affair. She was tired and she just wanted to get home, dammit! Finally after what seemed like eternity, the traffic started moving and Piper pulled into the driveway minutes later. She looked up at her house in gratitude at being and was surprised to see a very singed Zankou looking down at her. Her eyes widened in fear for her sisters until he turned and waved frantically at someone else inside. Phoebe and Leo came over to the window and waved down at her.

"Whats going on!" Piper yelled, moving towards the Manor, oblivious to Leo and Phoebe motioning for her not too. She tried the front door and was blasted across the lawn and saw the disconcerting sight of Leo and Phoebe ducking and Zankou throwing energy balls and getting slammed into the far wall with Paige and Grams following suit. Grams? What was she doing there?

-----------In the Attic---------

Zankou snarled at he rose to his feet and saw Barbas gone. Paige and Grams were climbing to their feet and Leo was pulling himself and Phoebe to their feet. He walked over to where the potions had been and the paper with the spell Grams and Paige had written. They were gone. A string of expletives flowed with surprising articulation as Zankou made sure everyone was all right.

"Piper's outside. There has to be a way to contact her." he said, looking at Paige. Paige got the message and flipped through the Book until she came to the Astral Projecting spell.

"Let's hope this works." Paige said, She cast the spell and Grams caught her, Zankou took a long stride and helped settle Paige in a pile of blankets.

--------------Outside-------------

"What's going on, Paige? Why is Zankou and Grams in the same house? Who was Zankou shooting at?" Piper demanded. Paige glanced at the house then explained in a quick, hurried tone.

"Barbas trapped us here, I can't orb out and Zankou can't Flame or Shimmer or whatever it is he does. He and Phoebe were in the kitchen whipping up a potion when Barbas attacked. He grazed Phoebe ankle, Zankou finished the potion and he brought Phoebe and said potions to the attic. Grams and I were working on a spell, but Barbas took off with the potions and the spell." Paige explained. Piper sighed.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked in resignation, looking up at Phoebe and Leo who were watching the conversation.

"Go to magic school, see if you can find a way break the shield and defeat once and for all." Paige said. She hugged Piper quickly. "I have to go before we're found out. Leo and Phoebe send their love. So does Grams. See you later." Paige said and vanished. Piper swore and walked back to her car. Somehow she had to get to Magic School. The sound of orbing behind her startled her and she whirled around, hands ready to blow something up and saw Kyle Brody.

"Kyle? Aren't you dead?" Piper asked, Kyle shrugged.

"I guess Paige didn't tell you? I'm a Whitelighter now. The elders sent me to bring you and the boys to magic school." Kyle said and explained more as Piper took Chris in his car seat and woke a sleepy Wyatt. She packed some of the herbal components in a bag and allowed Kyle to orb them to magic school.

-----------The Attic-----------

Phoebe watched sadly as Kyle orbed Piper and the boys, along with much needed supplies, to Magic School. She turned to survey the room and sighed in disappointment. Most of her childhood toys and memorabilia had been caught in the crossfire between Zankou and Barbas. Zankou noticed her looked and felt a twinge of regret.

"I apologize for the mess. He's a fast Shimmer. If that's even a word." he added with a smile. Phoebe chuckled and looked around again. Then something made her remember a secret stash of Herbs, a just in case scenario.

"Leo! Help me dig." she said, forgetting Leo was with Paige in the Kitchen and Grams was occupied with the Book. Zankou knelt next to her and pulled some of the heavier pieces of debris out of the way. His proximity was distracting, but Phoebe had plenty of practice at concentrating while being distracted. Having a two-year-old and six month old nephew allowed that kind of practice. She finally found what she was looking for. Buried under a table. She sighed in disgust as Zankou peered around the piece of couch he was holding and looked at it.

"Look out." he said shortly and Phoebe scrambled out of the way. After moving the piece of couch. Zankou bent down and lifted the table, straining at the weight of it underneath the other junk. "Get it." he grunted. Phoebe ducked in and grabbed to bag and darted back out. She was almost out when, from sweaty hands, the table slipped from Zankou's hands and started to fall. Zankou snatched her around the waist and pulled her the rest of the way out before it crashed down on her. Phoebe sighed in relief as she laid on her back. She realized where she was and rolled away, embarrassment flooding her cheeks. Zankou was just as embarrassed apparently and rolled to the opposite direction, quickly rising to his feet. Both looked at Grams like guilty children, but Grams was too enveloped in the book. Phoebe opened her mouth and closed it again, thinking better of it. Zankou walked to the opposite end of the attic and looked around.

--------Grams POV--------

I watched out of the corner of my eye as Phoebe and Zankou worked together to dig something out of the rubble. Watching them work together I noticed that Phoebe was close to touching Zankou with her hip. She was on her hands and knee's with Zankou kneeling on one knee next to her. Her hips swayed slightly, drawn to his, almost, but not quite, touching. A brief frown of disapproval crossed my face when I saw this. Phoebe was drawn to him, like she was with Cole. He lifted the table and Phoebe crawled underneath, snatched something and was almost out when it slipped. Zankou quickly reached down, snatched her waist and pulled her out, keeping it from coming down on her. They laid back, Phoebe on Zankou's arm, until Phoebe rolled away and Zankou went the opposite way. I turned my full attention back to the book when they looked at me. The attraction was obvious and it was just as obviously being fought on both sides.

--------Normal POV--------

Phoebe bent over the table, looking into the bag of herbs sorting them in her mind. There were too many. She piled them out and some of them went rolling across the floor and one bumped Zankou in the heel. He bent over and picked up the vial. Seeing the others rolling, he used his powers and gathered them to him, neatly piled in his hands. Carrying them carefully over to the table, he set them down while avoiding looking at Phoebe.

"What are you planning to do with these?" Zankou asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Experimenting, hopefully we'll come up with a concoction powerful enough to bring down Barbas. Without it being stolen." Phoebe said, casting a baleful look at the walls and ceiling. Zankou suppressed a chuckle and Phoebe grinned. The earlier tension had all but vanished and it was replaced with a wary easiness.

"Zankou, come help me with this spell." Grams said curtly. Zankou, knowing better than to argue, walked over to her side with the book about ten feet in front of them. "I know what you're doing with my Granddaughter." she said in a low voice so Phoebe wouldn't hear. Zankou gave her a perplexed look and played along.

"What am I doing with Phoebe?" he asked in confusion.

"You know quite well. Don't play the temptation game with her. She's been through a relationship with a demon before, it ended with her in tears and psycho demonic ex-husband. I won't allow it." Grams said, giving him the evil eye. Zankou looked at her coolly.

"I believe that Phoebe is a grown woman and who she does or does not wish to consort with is _her_ business. Not yours." Zankou said in a firm, unyielding voice. He glanced down and frowned slightly. "You misspelled dangerously. You forgot the 'L'." he said coldly and walked over to a chair and sat down, closing his eyes and regaining a firm control on his temper. He felt a light touch on his hand and opened his eyes to see Phoebe.

"Do I want to know what the conversation was about or can I guess?" she said with a small smile. Zankou shook his head.

"Your grandmother is delusionary. She seems to think we're...Interested in each other." he said, carefully choosing his words. Phoebe nodded and pulled another chair over.

"She can be a bit...Over-bearing sometimes. Having seven husbands can do that to a person." Phoebe said with grin as Zankou's eyes widened.

"_Seven_? Blessed Trine, that many men could stand her?" he chuckled, Phoebe giggled and leaned back in her chair. The potion was brewing and there was nothing to do but wait. There was a comfortable silence broken only by Grams flipping through the book and muttering to herself, casting malevolent looks at Zankou. Phoebe finally got fed up and walked over to her Grandmother.

"Grams, what is it?" she asked in aggravation.

"Do you remember what happened with Cole? The whole Demon thing?" Grams said with a meaningful glance at Zankou who rolled his eyes. Phoebe mimicked his action and rolled her eyes at her Grams.

"Relax, there's nothing there." she said, Penny didn't look convinced.

"Oh, please, it's almost tangible." she retorted. Phoebe nodded, walked over and put Zankou in a lip lock. He looked completely surprised, after a moment Phoebe pulled away, leaving Zankou breathless and panting. Phoebe was completely unaffected.

"Not a thing. Excuse me." she said and left the attic. Zankou let out a visible gulp. Regaining his composure. Zankou found something interesting to look at on the opposite end of room, keeping his attention focused on what he was doing. Phoebe came back a few minutes later, looking calm and composed. Zankou wished he felt the same way. But he was a demon, he could control himself...he hoped.

"That was reckless, Phoebe." Grams admonished. Phoebe shook her head. She walked over and looked at the potion, it was ready.

"Zankou, get me five bottles and five corks." she said. Zankou collected the bottles and looked around for the corks.

"Where are the corks?" he said, glancing around. Phoebe absently pointed at a shelf about ten inches from her. Zankou shook his head.

"You could have just reached over and gotten them." Zankou said, Phoebe shrugged.

"More fun to torture you." she grinned. Zankou rolled his eyes. Phoebe quickly dished up the potion, gave one vial to Zankou, kept one for himself and gave one to Grams.

"Let's get down to the kitchen." Phoebe said. Zankou offered both arms to both women. Phoebe took one and Penny reluctantly took one and Zankou shimmered them to the Kitchen...

---------Piper's Kitchen, an hour later-------

"No, no it has to be short and to the point. Not long-winded." Paige said looking at the spell Grams had written.

"This is short and to the point." Grams argued, Zankou was looking around and Phoebe and Leo were sitting quietly.

"Nice Kitchen." Zankou said. Phoebe grinned and shrugged.

"Piper keeps it in good shape. Just don't get in her way when she's in a cooking frenzy. You're liable to end up fried, fricasseed and buttered." Phoebe said as Zankou chuckled.

"At the same time?" he asked with a smirk.

"Most of the time." Phoebe replied. Leo watched them silently, seeing how they reacted to each other. Phoebe would stretch her arm towards him without meaning too, Zankou would smile genuinely at her and they would unintentionally flirt. He knew the symptoms, having experienced it himself with Piper at the beginning of their relationship. Only this was different. Phoebe and Zankou were enemies. Zankou having come after Phoebe and Phoebe and her sisters going after Zankou. He hoped that if something did develop, it wouldn't end in tears like Cole and Phoebe's relationship had so many years ago. It was difficult to tell. There was honest attraction and not just the physical kind, though there was plenty of that. Leo hoped Phoebe would true love, but, truth be told, her choice in men sucked.

If she liked Zankou, and from what Leo could tell, she did then there was a good chance Zankou felt the same way and he would treat her like a queen. Leo just didn't want a repeat of Evil Queen Phoebe.

Time would tell if it was another Phoebe and Cole. The only thing was for Phoebe and Zankou to see it, then there would be nothing that could stop them, not Leo, Piper or Paige.

TBC

-------------------------------------

Please R&R!


	3. Piper's good Knives

Sorry it not only took so long, but it's so short. I'm kinda having a rough time right now, but I'll try to update more.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, only the idea for the plot line, which is made up as I go. (grins)

-------------------------------------------------------

"What do you think of this, Phoebe?" Paige asked, handing her older sister the spell, Phoebe scanned it and frowned slightly.

"This requires the Power of Three, in case you haven't noticed, we're short a sister." she said and re-read it. "Besides, it's always taken the Power of Three to take down Barbas. Well, for the most part anyway." Phoebe amended at Paige's doubtful look. Zankou reached over and held his hand out for spell. Phoebe handed it to him and Zankou caught a smell of the perfume she had put on that morning. Lavender and Roses. Extremely intoxicating. Shaking it off, he read the spell and mused over it for a moment.

"Hand me the pen and another piece of paper." he said and Grams passed them down to him. Scribbling something on the piece with the spell and then on the blank piece copied the spell with another piece of paper. After a few moments, he handed it back to Grams who looked at it approvingly.

"Nice job, fitting the spell to work with two witches, a ghost and a demon. I just hope it works." Grams said in low tone, trying to keep Barbas from hearing. Zankou nodded in agreement and glanced at Phoebe again. She was leaning back in the chair, eyes closed and breathing slowly. Zankou recalled the feeling of her lying on his arm and suppressed a shiver. The shiver that nothing to do with fear or cold. He pulled his thoughts away from that particular subject and concentrated on the task at hand.

"We have the spell, we have the potion, what do we do now?" Paige said. Zankou went over the various tactics he had learned over the years.

"We could set a trap." he said, Phoebe shook her head.

"He knows our tactics. We've set dozens of traps for him over the years, he knows us by heart." she said, Zankou smirked in a irritating way.

"_Your_ tactics maybe, but not mine." he grinned, Phoebe nodded in sudden understanding.

"I get it, we set a trap in your style and he expects a trap in our style, but gets a nasty surprise." Phoebe grinned as well. Zankou nodded and Barbas appeared with a dozen other demons.

"Guess again, kiddies." he snarled and launched a dozen energy balls. Zankou intercepted most and Paige tossed the rest back at the demons. Phoebe used several of Piper's good knives to take care of several demons. Because she wasn't watching her back, Barbas shimmered in behind her, snatched her and shimmered away as Phoebe screamed.

"Phoebe!" Zankou roared and wasted several demons and tried to flame after Barbas, but landed on his back on the kitchen floor. "Dammit!" He growled and blasted the rest of the demons and slammed his fists on island top. Paige backed away to Grams and Leo carefully walked forward to stand next to the demon.

"Zankou?" Leo asked cautiously. Zankou turned away from the former Whitelighter and took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"I'm going up to the attic to try find a way to break the shield." he said and flamed out.

"What's the matter with him?" Paige asked after a moment.

"I think he blames himself for not protecting Phoebe." Leo said quietly...

-----------The Attic----------

Zankou numbly flipped through the pages of other books, his mind still on what happened. Phoebe was gone and he couldn't save her because of that stupid shield. Then it struck him, the shield blocked certain forms of energy, like his flaming or Paige's Orbing, but it didn't stop Shimmering or Astral projection. Zankou grinned, then frowned. It had been a long, long time since he had shimmered, could he still do it? Well, only one way to find out now, wasn't there? Zankou closed his eyes and concentrated and Shimmered outside to the lawn. It worked. Zankou laughed and Shimmered to the kitchen.

"I figured out how to get out of here." Zankou said with a grin. Looking surprised, Paige spoke first.

"How?" she asked, Zankou collected his thoughts before answering triumphantly.

"If Barbas can Shimmer and you can Astral Project out, but can't orb or in my case, flame. Why not shimmer?" Zankou said, Paige laughed and shook her head.

"Excellent! All right, if you'll shimmer Leo and I out... Wait, Grams, how can you...?" Paige said, Grams smiled.

"I'm sure you three can handle it from here. Don't worry, you'll work it out." Grams said, hugged Paige and Leo and regarded Zankou slightly suspiciously. "I'm not hugging you." she said, Zankou smirked at her.

"That's a relief. I'll keep them safe and get Phoebe back." Zankou said seriously and Grams smiled and nodded.

"You know, I do believe you will." she said, shook hands with Zankou and disappeared in a swarm of yellow-white lights. Paige smiled and walked over and picked up the spell and potions.

"Shall we?" Zankou offered Paige his arm, which she took and placed a hand on Leo's shoulder and shimmered them out...

---------------Barbas' Lair----------

Phoebe was tied to a post with Barbas smirking at her. Phoebe twisted, wriggled and worked, but couldn't even loosen the ropes.

"I wouldn't try to escape. See those ropes are like Chinese Finger Traps. The harder you fight, the tighter they become. But, instead of loosening when you relax, they tighten further." Barbas smiled cruelly at her. Phoebe knew better than to trust what he said, but from what he said and the look on his face told her it was true. "Is your, boyfriend coming to rescue you with your sisters? Oh, wait, thats right. They can't escape from the shield. Not even Leather Boy." Barbas smirked again, turned and left. Phoebe rested her head against the post and felt the ropes tighten. Well, it looked like in this case, Barbas was telling the truth. Damn him for being truthful now of all times! What had he meant by boyfriend? He knew Cole was dead, the entire Underworld knew, it was common knowledge that Leo was married to Piper, so that left... Phoebe shuddered. He thought Zankou was her boyfriend! Well, he had protected her in the kitchen, tried to follow Barbas when he kidnapped her. Saved her from getting squashed and joked and flirted with her. Part of Phoebe shivered in disgust at the thought. The larger part however, felt excited at the possibility. It wasn't as if he was ugly, he was certainly powerful and...Attracted to her. Phoebe blinked as the realization hit her. He was attracted to her and...The feeling was mutual.

-------------Outside the Manor------------

Zankou landed them safely in outside, Paige and Leo broke away and they started to make plans.

"Zankou, return to the Underworld, try and find Phoebe and Barbas. Leo and I will return to Magic School and find a way to break the shield. We'll meet at the tomb we were at during the Avatar fiasco, deal?" she said, Zankou nodded and glanced at the rising sun.

"When do we meet?" he asked, Paige bit her lower lip as she considered all possibilities.

"Tonight, 8:30 at the tomb. We do our best work at night." Paige smiled grimly, Zankou nodded and flamed out to the Underworld. Leo frowned slightly.

"Do you honestly believe he won't betray us?" Leo asked as they walked over and leaned against the Four wheel Drive that was Piper's car.

"I honestly believe he care's a great deal about Phoebe and isn't about to let anything happen to her. Come on, Piper's probably worried sick about us." Paige said, linked her arm with Leo and orbed to Magic School, missing the echoing howl of frustration that came from within the Manor as Barbas discovered them gone...

------------------Magic School---------------

Magic School was far more chaotic than usual. Well, it was a directed Chaos, coming from Piper. Her ringing voice could be heard from one end of the home of magical studies to the other. She was worried, irritated at the lack of planning and frightened that her sisters might not survive. Piper was in fine form.

"Piper!" Leo called as he ran to his wife, Piper turned and was enveloped in much loved and much missed arms of her husband. Paige came a few moments later, out of breath from trying to keep up with Leo.

"I...Need...To join a gym." Paige panted as Piper hugged her as well.

"Where's Phoebe? And Grams and that spoiled specimen of a demon, Zankou?" Piper asked, Paige hung her head and dread crept into Piper's heart and must have shown on her face, because Leo quickly spoke.

"Barbas and some of his cronies appeared and kidnapped Phoebe. Zankou and Paige were holding demons off and Phoebe was throwing some of your knives, she was so busy she wasn't watching her back and we could help her, Barbas shimmered in behind her and they got away. Zankou tried to followed, but couldn't get through the shield. Piper, I need to tell you something. I think Zankou's in love with Phoebe and I think she's in love with him as well." Leo explained quietly.

"SHE USED MY GOOD KNIVES FOR DEMON VANQUISHING?" Piper's scream echoed through the School and sent Teachers, Students and all manner of class pets scrambling for any kind of cover they could find.

"Somehow, that wasn't the reaction I was expecting." Paige said, Leo shook his head and motioned Paige to one side of the bookcase and he went to the otherside and started digging.

TBC

----------------------------

Please R&R!


	4. At the Tomb

Zankou followed the feel of Phoebe's essence to her location. He glanced around, noticing no one was around. It was far too easy to be true. Closing his eyes for a brief second, he scanned the area for other demons, half wishing Laygan were here to play cannon fodder. But he had died to get Leo killed to force the sisters to help him rid themselves of the Avatars. And he was a decent minion too. With no other demon in the area and feeling guilty about not protecting Phoebe, Zankou ran across the room quickly, ducking into the other room where Phoebe was being held.

"What took you so long?" Phoebe demanded, Zankou rolled his eyes at her.

"Just be glad I'm here to save you." he snapped in return and burned away the ropes. Phoebe sighed in relief and hurried to the doorway only to be blasted back into Zankou and knocking them both into the far wall.

"Well, that went well didn't it?" Zankou asked, half talking to himself. Phoebe sat up and walked over to the doorway and lightly touched it. She yelped and snatched her finger back.

"So now what do we do?" Phoebe asked, Zankou stopped dusting himself off and looked at her.

"Well, I could try shimmering us out of here, but it might be a better idea to try it by myself first." he said, Phoebe planted her hands on her hips.

"And how do I know you won't leave me here?" she demanded, Zankou bit his bottom lip and reminded himself that he was here to save her, not kill her.

"Well, you don't. So have a little faith and deal with it!" Zankou snarled and tried to shimmer out. He landed flat on his back, groaning in pain.

"Are you all right?" Phoebe asked, helping him up. Glaring down at her, Zankou almost retorted but her lips on his stopped that retort.

"I think, we need to talk." he said after she broke the kiss. Phoebe nodded in agreement and settled into a cross-legged position...

----------------Magic School---------------

"Okay, back up to the part right after 'Piper, I need to tell you something'. I wanna hear that again." Piper demanded. Leo took a deep breath and repeated what he had tried to say earlier.

"I think Zankou's in love with Phoebe and I think she's in love with him as well." Leo said and Piper groaned in disgust with her younger sister.

"Her taste in guys sucks. So, he went to the underworld to find her and he's supposed to meet us at the tomb we were at during the Avatar thing, right?" Piper said, Paige nodded. Closing her eyes, Piper rubbed her forehead in disgust and went to sit down.

"How are the boys?" Leo asked worriedly. Piper smiled lightly.

"Miss Donovan is with them. So when are we meeting with wonder boy?" Piper asked, Paige closed her eyes and thought quickly, running the conversation in her mind.

"At 8:30 in the tomb. It's six o'clock." Paige replied, checking her watch.

''All right, we still have plenty of time. What else do we need to do?" Piper asked, looking around. The potion was just about done and the spell was done.

"When the potion is ready, all we'll have to do it wait for 8:30." Leo shrugged. Piper gave her beloved husband a venomous look. She loved Leo dearly, but he could be so obvious sometimes.

"We could go early?" Paige suggested and Piper nodded sharply as the timer for the potion dinged.

"Excellent. Leo, stay here. Come on, Paige. Let's go rescue my sister and her demonic boyfriend. Ay, I hope this doesn't end up like another Cole." Piper said as they orbed out of magic school...

------------------Phoebe and Zankou-----------------

"So that's what happened with Cole? Huh, I didn't know that." Phoebe said as Zankou explained what he thought might have happened her demonic ex-husband.

"It happens on occasion. Very rarely in fact." Zankou said, after a long and involved talk., he and Phoebe were still at an impasse, but had come to the mutual agreement that if they lived through this, they would figure things out from there. Not before. Before either could say anything could say anything else, Barbas appeared. He chuckled ominously as some of his other minions appeared behind them. Rising quickly to their feet, Phoebe and Zankou stood back to back against the various forces of the Demon of Fear.

"Seperate them." Barbas ordered, flipping his hand. It proved more difficult than expected. Though Phoebe didn't have any powers she had six and half years worth of kickboxing and other martial arts training and made full use of it and Zankou was just plain bull-headed. Eventually they were separated and Phoebe was dragged off to another part of the lair while Zankou was knocked unconscious and had the stuffing beaten out of him.

"Pathetic." Barbas spat and walked away, removing the holding shield from the cell...

----------8:30 at the tomb-----------

Paige and Piper had been cooling their heels since 6:30 and they were getting angry when a bruised, beaten and pissed Zankou stumbled into the Tomb.

"Zankou! What the hell happened to you?!?" Piper demanded as she caught the collapsing, swearing demon.

"What do you think happened?!? I got beaten and Phoebe was dragged somewhere else." he snapped and sat on the empty Sarcophagus.

"Barbas?" Paige asked, Zankou tiredly shook his head. He had managed to heal the worst of the wounds, but the rest would take a while.

"Barbas' minions. Lets just say we're going to need serious reinforcements. I'd use my men, but that might cause problems." Zankou said, shrugging his shoulders and wincing in pain as he did.

"If you're the absolute commander, it won't matter. Call them, I can handle anyone who raises an objection." Piper said, flexing her hands. Managing a wry grin, Zankou remembered well the power of those hands. In fact, he got a reminder everytime he took a deep breath. Closing his eyes, he sent a silent summons and locations to his chosen minions. They appeared and were very surprised not only to see two of three legendary and lethal Charmed Ones, but their bruised and battered leader.

"What's going on?" one demanded, stepping forward angrily. Piper raised her hands and he backed off cautiously and prudently.

"We are going to remove a thorn from my side, so to speak. We're going to remove the demon Barbas. He has a small army and I need to get through them to get to him and something I want. Get it?" he snapped, standing up, resisting the urge to hiss in pain as he did.

"What are they doing here?" one of them asked boldly.

"We're the back up plan." Paige replied. Giving her an exasperated look, Piper simply nodded. Zankou turned back to his minions and they turned suspicious looks at him.

"There are rumors floating around you've fallen for a Charmed One." the one that had stepped up originally said boldly. Zankou shrugged and vanquished him with a fireball. He was pleased to see that while the rest of his force flinched, the sisters did not.

"Does anyone else want to question me? Perhaps, bring this rumor up again?" he said. They remained quiet. "All you need to know, you have already been told. That is all for the moment, remain here." Zankou snarled and he and the sisters walked to the opposite end of the tomb and spoke quietly to avoid an echo.

"That's a lot of demons, are you sure you can control them?" Piper asked skeptically. Zankou smiled lightly.

"Can you control yourself from vanquishing them?" he replied. Piper gave him a look that reminded him forcibly of another matriarch of this peculiar family.

"Fine. How do we find Phoebe?" Paige asked to break the tension. Zankou closed his eyes in answer and spread his hands a few inches apart. Sensing was one of his basic gifts and could be used easily. In seconds he had her location, her general health and the number of enemies.

"I found her. She's find, a little pissed, but who can blame her and we have better numbers, ten to one in our favor." Zankou replied before turning to his motley force.

"This is the location. Meet me and them here." he said and broadcast all the information they needed to know. Excluding Phoebe and all the parts about her of course.

"Go and remain hidden until we reach you." he said and in a mass shimmer, they vanished.

"Shall we?" Zankou said and offered his arms to the sisters. Piper rolled her eyes and took it, mentally noting to warn Phoebe about his tendencies towards drama. And over acting. Paige grinned and took the other one and they vanished as well...

-------------------Phoebe, unknown location-------------

'Please hurry, guys.' Phoebe thought. She would have muttered it, but Barbas had ordered her gagged.

------------------To Be Continued------------------


	5. The Trap

I wrote this on my laptop. The same day I finished this is the same day one of my dogs had puppies. So it was a great day for everyone!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the spell that vanquished Barbas

-----------------------------------------------

Phoebe watched silently as Barbas briefed his minions about the plan and their various parts in it. She memorized most of it and vowed to interogate him on it later. She was pretending to be asleep, gathering her strength for when her sisters came to rescue her, preferably along with some Demonic help.

"Hey, now, you're not falling asleep, are you?" Barbas said, lightly slapping her cheek. Phoebe growled and snapped at him. Barbas snatched his hand back, but Phoebe managed to nick one of his fingers in the process. Barbas growled and backhanded her. Phoebe brought her foot and jammed her heel into his stomach, bending him double. Lashing her knee upwards, Phoebe sent him reeling backwards on his ass. He got to his feet and knocked her out. Turning to his minions, he rubbed his jaw and waved his hand. Understanding, they shimmered out. Barbas snarled as he glowered at the unconscious woman. Shaking his head, Barbas flamed out.

-------------------The Trap-----------------

Zankou flamed in with one of the Charmed Ones on each arm. Phoebe was unconscious and tied to post. Piper and Paige started forward, but Zankou stopped them before they went too far. Raising his hand to signal them to wait, he walked up and tossed a rock into the cage. He reached a hand for it and it came flying toward him, but was stopped by a force field. He smirked.

"That's what happened last time." he whispered to them. They nodded as he backed up.

"How do we break it?" Paige asked, Zankou frowned lightly.

"Try a summoning spell for Phoebe." he said. Piper reached into her pocket and pulled out a small pocket sized notebook.

"We keep a few of the more important spells with us." Paige whispered. Zankou merely nodded at them. "_Powers of the Witches rise, course unseen across the sky. Come to me I call you near, come to me and settle here._" Piper and Paige intoned. Phoebe disappeared in a mass of blue/white orbs. Then appeared in front of Piper and Paige. Zankou knelt quickly and checked her pulse. Phoebe stirred at his touch and Zankou forced down a wave of desire that came from her nearness. She smiled up at him, then changed. It was Barbas. Rolling backwards, Zankou fought down a wave of nausea at his reaction. He joined Piper and Paige as they backed away from the treacherous, dangerous demon. Piper stepped forward, hands raised ready to blast him into bite sized Barbas bits.

"Where is my sister!" Piper demanded, Barbas smirked and shimmered away as Piper blasted, her power missing him but hitting the rock. Swearing violently, Zankou tossed a fireball at the rock, incinerating it.

"Wow, that rock has taken a lot of abuse." Paige chuckled. Zankou growled and shook his head.

"We have to find her, you know." He said, turning to Piper, who hastily wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Yeah, I know. All right, how do we find her?" Piper asked, Zankou closed his eyes and searched for the trail of Barbas' shimmer. He opened his eyes and grinned at them, just a wee bit manically.

"Found him. And the Real Phoebe this time. Shall we?" he asked offering his arms. Before taking his free arm, Piper looked him in the eye for a second.

"Zankou, I know you care for my sister, but I swear, if you hurt her in anyway, I will hunt you down and vanquish your sorry ass." Piper told him. Zankou quirked an eyebrow at her, then nodded.

"Piper, I would walk through heaven to be with your sister. I will never let her down." Zankou said. Piper nodded, satisfied. She took his arm and they flamed out.

-----------------------Phoebe's real location-----------------------

They flamed into the middle of Barbas' army. Piper began blasting, while Paige snatched fire and energy balls and tossing them at other demons while taking out the first shooters. Zankou summoned his army and they began wiping out Barbas' army. Zankou pulled Piper and Paige with him as they made their way through the fighting armies. They quickly found Phoebe, who Barbas was using as a shield. She was conscious and pissed. Zankou's eyes narrowed at Barbas' audacity.

"Let her go." Piper said. Barbas laughed at her as he held the energyball closer to her head.

"Why should I? She's the perfect human shield. You three wouldn't dare attack me while I was holding her." he said, Phoebe's eyes narrowed and Zankou noticed she was wearing heels. Stiletto, four inch high, black heels. She lifted her foot and jammed the heel into his foot, piercing skin and making him yelp in pain and surprise. He let her go as she removed the heel from his foot and stumbled into Zankou's waiting arms.

"Hey, good catch, big guy." Phoebe said, before falling unconscious. Zankou's eyes narrowed angrily.

"What have you done to her?" he demanded, Barbas smiled.

"Aboslutely nothing and this is the absolute truth." Barbas said. Piper growled and blasted him backwards. Phoebe cried out in pain as she did.

"Oh, did I forget to mention I did a mind link? That whatever pain I feel, she does as well? Silly me." he said. Zankou handed Phoebe over to Piper and stalked over to Barbas, picking him up by his shirt front.

"If you don't release that link..." Zankou hissed as Barbas laughed at him.

"You'll do what? If you do something to me, she'll feel whatever it is. So you are SOL." Barbas grinned. Zankou smiled nastily at him, an idea forming.

"If it's physical, she'll feel it. No one ever said anything about mentally." Zankou grinned. Barbas' eyes widened. Appearently the demon of fear hadn't thought about that. Zankou placed his palm against Barbas' forehead and the demon of fear screamed in his own fear as Zankou fed his own deepest fear back on him. He collapsed into a whimpering puddle of demon flesh. Phoebe gasped and she looked up at Zankou.

"It's gone. The link is gone." Phoebe said. Crossing over from where he stood with two easy strides, Zankou pulled Phoebe into a hug that she returned. Piper and Paige walked around the couple to give them some privacy and to deal with Barbas, who was gone.

"Dammit! He's gone!" Piper growled. Paige looked around a bit fearfully.

"Well, he couldn't have gotten far." Phoebe asked, as she turned her and Zankou around. Zankou kept an arm around her protectively as they faced Phoebe's sisters. Piper nodded and frowned lightly, listening to the sudden silence.

"Shouldn't there be some kind of sound from the armies fighting?" Piper said. Zankou's eyes widened as he turned and raced back to the site of the fighting. The only ones left were Barbas' fighters. The demon and the Charmed Ones formed a line against the army, Phoebe standing next to Zankou. Barbas was standing infront of the army, looking pale, but gloating.

"Your about to be defeated. Any last words?" Barbas asked, Paige, Piper and Phoebe turned and looked at each other, smiling.

"Just a little rhyme." they said in unison. Zankou, sensing the trick, stepped forward to protect the girls from any attacks. Fortunately the Demon's reputation had preceeded him and the only person who was stupid enough to try and challenge him was Barbas.

_"Demon of Fear, Bringer of Pain. Feel what you hide and take what you give. Demon of Fear, begone from this world, make us all a little more at ease with our fear_." Piper, Phoebe and Paige intoned, targetting Barbas. He cried out and vanished a flash of fire, leaving his army to face the Charmed Ones and a very unhappy Zankou. Zankou pulled a Rock from Walking Tall and jerked forward at them. They fled in a mass shimmer. Laughing, Zankou turned and Phoebe kissed him. Just about that time, Kyle with Leo orbed in and all three Charmed Ones were kissed with equal passion.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

TBC

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


	6. Why a Tux?

It's almost at the end. I should have done this earlier so I apologize, I'm terrible at posting.

Piper smiled as Zankou played with Wyatt. Chris hit Zankou on the head with his stuffed bear, making the demon sigh dejectedly. Piper took the toy from Chris and shook her finger at him.

"Christoper Riley Halliwell. Don't you ever do that again!" Piper scolded. Chris just stared up at her innocently. Zankou chuckled and shook his head.

"Nah, it's okay, Piper. I suppose I have to get used to it." he said as Phoebe walked in, on the phone with the florist. They were getting married the next day and Zankou had positively refused to wear a tuxedo. Phoebe had tried every trick in her book and he had stoutly refused. Leo had sat him down and had a heart to heart with the demon. It had mostly consistened of Leo informing Zankou that in the Halliwell family the women ruled the roost and the men were just there for the heavy lifting and changing the occasional diaper.

"When are you gonna pick up the Tux?" Phoebe asked after she hung up. Zankou rolled his eyes.

"I told Leo and I'm going to tell you again, my love. _No Tuxedo_." Zankou said as Phoebe laid down next to him and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Pleeease?" she begged. Zankou gave her a disgusted look.

"You're begging?" he asked, Phoebe smiled winsomely at him.

"Is it working?" she asked. Laughing, Zankou sighed again and nodded.

"All right, I'll wear the stupid tux." he said and Phoebe squealed happily and wrapped her arms around his neck, Zankou rolled his eyes at her and laughed again.

"The things I do for you, woman." he said. Phoebe grinned at him. In blue jeans and a black t-shirt he was a hunk. At least that's what Phoebe thought. The leathers he usually wore were hanging in their closet in Phoebe's room. The things that had been destroyed during Barbas' siege of the manor had been fixed and things were bright and cheery in the manor. Suddenly, Phoebe sniffed the air.

"Piper, is something burning?" Phoebe asked, Piper's eyes widened.

"My roast!" she cried and took off for the kitchen, leaving her sister and her fiance laughing on the sun room floor.

"Anybody home?" Leo called as the door slammed closed. Zankou answered, his powerful voice carrying easily.

"In the sun room and you're wife is trying to save her beef roast from burning to a crisp." he chuckled. Leo grinned and lifted two dry cleaning bags. Zankou groaned. "Don't tell me, let me guess. Those are the tuxedo's." he said, Leo nodded and Phoebe laughed.

"I always did find a man in a tux attractive." Phoebe whispered in Zankou's ear, making him perk up slightly.

"Perhaps a tux isn't such a bad idea after all." Zankou said, making Leo laugh. The two men disappeared upstairs to change into the suits Leo had brought home from the dry cleaners. Leo was Zankou's best man and they had matching suits.

---------------Piper and Leo's room-----------

"Help." a voice said quietly from the doorway. Leo turned and resisted the urge to snicker. Holding his bow tie in one hand and vest in the other with his jacket over his left arm, all Zankou had managed to accomplish was getting his pants on and putting arms in the sleeves of his dress shirt.

"You know, for a five thousand year old demon, you don't have a clue about Tuxes, do you?" Leo said, taking the bow tie, vest and jacket from the harried demon. Shooting a venomus look at the former whitelighter, the demon sighed. "First off, go back to your and Phoebe's room and put on a t-shirt on under the shirt, it's a better idea believe me and leave the dress shirt off. We'll work on that when you get back." Leo said calmly. Shaking his head, Zankou headed back down the hall, ignoring the wolf whistle Paige sent his way. Sticking her head into the room of her older sister and husband she grinned as Leo laid the jacket and vest on the bed.

"Have you seen that gorgeous boyfriend of mine?" Paige asked. Leo frowned as he thought of it.

"No, I can't say as I have. Why?" Leo asked, Paige squealed as Zankou pinched her arm as he walked by.

"Just curious, he was supposed to meet me at P3 and he never showed." Paige replied, glaring at her soon to be brother-in-law. He smiled innocently and turned to Leo. Walking away, Paige started up the stairs and accidently tripped. As she fell backwards, strong arms caught her and set her on her feet. Kyle smiled down at her as she hugged him tightly.

"Still conviced the Elders are going to seperate us?" Kyle asked gently, Paige nodded, head buried in his chest. "Babe, the reason I couldn't meet you in P3 is because the Elders called me to talk about us." he said. Paige backed away and looked him in the eyes, fear written all over her face. Kyle shook his head.

"Hey, don't worry. They just called me to say that we can be together, nothing else." Kyle said, Paige squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. Kyle groaned as he heard the jingle of the Elders calling him.

"No, not now." Paige said, Kyle shrugged and kissed her again.

"That's how it goes, love." he said and orbed out. Sighing, Paige turned and walked back down the hall. Zankou was in his tux in Leo and Piper's room, looking seriously dejected. Leo patted his shoulder sympathetically.

"Does it have to be a bow tie? Or a tuxedo?" Zankou asked plaintively. Leo tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, you could try a normal suit." Leo suggested. Zankou sighed in relief and took off his bow tie and unbuttoned the collar.

"Where do we find one?" he asked. Leo grinned.

"Go put your jeans and T-Shirt on again. We're going to the tailor." Leo said as a rather confused Zankou walked back down the hall.

"Uh, Leo, won't the tailor kinda...Freak him out a little?" Paige asked dubiously. Leo shrugged, grabbing his jacket out of the closet.

"Nah, a friend of mine is a tailor, he's a whitelighter that moonlights as a tailor. He'll handle it for us." Leo said and met Zankou at the doorway of his and Phoebe's room. He looked far more comfortable in jeans and a two-tone gray and maroon T-Shirt with dark brown cowboy boots. A leather jacket hung off one shoulder and he had that 'bad boy' look down pat.

"You're weren't James Dean in another life were you?" Paige asked, Zankou grinned, flashing white teeth.

"Sorry, I was still imprisoned then, but I do like motorcycles." Zankou replied, still grinning.

"Come on, James." Leo said, leading Zankou down the stairs.

--------------The Tailor------------

"Leo! It's good to see you. Is this him?" Mark Caine asked, looking at Zankou. Zankou unconciously stiffened and Mark laughed easily. "Relax, I cater to a lot of people. Let's see...36/40 for pants. Medium for shirt and...Large for jacket. Neck...35 around I should think." Mark said, circling Zankou measuring by eye.

"How do you do that?" Paige asked, Mark tapped the side of his nose and smiled.

"Trade secret. Come back here and I'll get a suit together for you and we'll deal with it from there." Mark said. Leo shrugged and lead the way.

"You didn't have to come you know." Zankou informed Paige as they sat in a comfortable. Paige shrugged.

"I needed to get out of the house. It was getting a bit crowded." Paige said. Zankou nodded.

"I understand that." he said. After a few minutes, Mark walked back in and held up a suit. It was dark blue with a medium blue tie and a light blue shirt. He grinned and pulled out navy blue shoes.

"I'll look like a piece of sky." Zankou groused as he took the suit, shoes and all, into a fitting room and closing the door. After a few minutes, he walked out and Paige whistled.

"Nice." she grinned at him. Zankou returned the grin and turned so Leo and Mark could see him.

"Excellent. They fit like a charm. Now, anything uncomfortable about them?" Mark said. Zankou rotated his shoulders and other appendeges and shook his head.

"No, they fit perfectly." Zankou admitted. Paige stood and looked him up and down.

"They look nice, but I don't know about the color." Paige said. Zankou sighed.

"So what would you suggest?" he asked exasperatedly. Paige at him once more and nodded.

"Deep brown or emerald green. Bring out the eyes." Paige suggested. Mark looked closely at Zankou and nodded his agreement.

"You're right. Come with me, Paige. We'll find something. Go ahead and take that off. This might take a while." Mark said as he and Paige disappeared. Zankou sighed and walked back into the fitting room. He emerged a few minutes looking decidedly more comfortable.

"I hope things are going better for Phoebe." he muttered. Leo hid a grin behind a magazine.

----------------------Phoebe and Piper-----------------

"Why don't you just use the wedding dress from your wedding to Cole?" Piper asked as Phoebe shook her head, shuddering.

"No, I don't want to use that one." she said as Piper pulled up in front of a bridal shop.

"Come on." Phoebe said, pulling her sister inside. The woman who greeted them was overly perky, but she knew what she was talking about. They selected three dresses.

"Shouldn't the groom be here to help?" one of the other brides, a younger woman, asked Piper as Phoebe changed into another dress.

"He's out with my husband getting a suit instead of a tux. My other sister is with them, she's the fashion expert. I'm here for moral support." Piper explained. The woman gave her a strange look and walked away. Piper snorted under her breath, but said nothing.

"Well, what do you think?" Phoebe asked with a shy smile. Piper's eyes were wide and she was grinning.

"Phoebe, that is the perfect dress for you. Zan will love it." Piper said, using the shortened name they had all agreed on using in public.

"Do you really think so?" Phoebe asked. She turned and looked at herself in it. It was a sleevless affair with a low neckline and delicate lace straps holding it up. The back came to the middle of her back and showed off the muscles and tattoos she had collected over the years. It was a single skirt with plenty of room for movement so that if, heaven and hell forbid, something happened or something attacked, she would have freedom of movement. The skirt hid her feet, so tennis shoes could be worn and no one would ever know. But knowing Phoebe, it would be low heels with a comfortable, well worn feel. It wasn't white, but it was a deep green that Piper had felt would make Phoebe look like a nymph, but Phoebe liked it, so there it was. Phoebe's wedding dress.

"How much will this be?" Piper asked, almost half-wincing. The woman totaled it up, then smiled.

"Only a hundred dollars. We're a second hand wedding dress shop, so we aren't half as much as others." she said. Piper nodded and paid the amount. They hit one more store before heading home. A lingere shop. Piper stayed in the car as Phoebe went in. She wasn't embarrassed, well maybe a little, but she had other things on her mind.

"Leo? How's the fitting going?" Piper asked, hearing arguing in the background.

"Zankou, Paige and Mark are arguing over which suit. The blue, brown or green." Leo replied, laughing.

"Tell them that I say green and no arguments or it's takeout for a month." Piper threatened. The threat was relayed and the desicion was made. Green it was.

"How much was the dress?" Leo asked, coming back. Piper smiled, even at a distance, she knew how to get her family to do was right.

"Only a hundred. Phoebe didn't tell me it was a second hand shop, of course the name should have told me everything I needed to know. 'The Second Time Around'." Piper laughed. She and Leo talked until Phoebe came out. "Gotta go, love. Catch you later." Piper said, hanging up after Leo said good-bye.

"That shop was outrageous in price, but I got this really cute-" Phoebe said before Piper cut her off with a raised hand.

"I don't wanna know. Just make sure you're in Paris before you two start in. I don't want my boys hearing you two." Piper said, enjoying making Phoebe blush. Phoebe hummphed and turned the radio up.

--------------That Evening------------

"Don't tell me, let me guess. You're marrying another demon?" Victor said, looking at Zankou. Phoebe placed a hand on his knee before replying.

"Yes, I am." Phoebe replied. Victor sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"You remember how it turned out with Cole, right?" Victor said, glaring harshly at Zankou. Phoebe was about to reply, when Zankou placed his hand on hers to stop her.

"Believe me when I say this, I am not Belthazor, nor am I Cole Turner. I will never leave her, hurt her or doing anything that will jeapordize her. And no demons will attack your daughters again. Not as long as I'm here." Zankou added, eyes flashing. Victor nodded satisfied.

"Then I'm happy. Okay, Piper. bring on the beef roast!" Victor said. Phoebe's jaw dropped at her fathers audacity. Zankou, however, turned to Leo.

"Were you drunk when you married into this family?" he asked, Leo laughed as Phoebe pinched Zankou.

------------------------------------------------------

TBC

------------------------------------------------------


	7. The Wedding

Well, here it is, the Epilogue. I wasn't going to finish, but I thought 'What harm can it do?' and here I am! Up for an award thanks to ABC Fic Awards. (See my profile for link) I'm also judging, so I'll be busy. But here it is. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Even Brendan Rowe belongs to Brad Kern and company.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day dawned clear and cool, which was good because the wedding would be outside. It was at a little picnic area in Golden Gate Park. The chairs were filled, the Preacher was there. The only things missing was the bride, groom and family.

"Piper! Where are my shoes!" Phoebe called from her room.

"Bottom of the closet, right hand side!" Zankou replied from Piper and Leo's room.

"Thanks, babe!" Phoebe called, Zankou grinned to himself.

"No problem." he called back, Leo jerked on the tie he was hurriedly tying.

"Hold still, damnit. This is hard enough without you twitching." Leo growled. Zankou raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. The whole family had slept late and now they were all late.

"Wyatt Matthew Halliwell, if you don't stop wiggling I'll make you wear your pink bunny pajamas." Piper snapped. The little blonde boy suddenly held stock still. Paige was dressing Chris and Phoebe was just finishing her make-up. Kyle was all dressed and helping Paige.

"All right! Bride and Bridesmaids first. Leo, Kyle, keep Zankou away from the door as we pass, then go five minutes after we do!" Piper called, voice ringing. Victor was already at the wedding area and was waiting for them. Just as Phoebe, Piper and Paige got out the door, the phone rang. Leo lunged for it and answered the cordless.

"Halliwell residence." Leo answered, finishing tying his own tie.

"Leo, where are you guys? A demon didn't appear did it? Aside from Zankou of course." Victor amended. Leo closed his eyes and breathed a silent prayer that one wouldn't.

"No, Victor, we all slept late, the girls just left with the boys and we're headed that way now. We'll see you there." Leo said, hanging up the phone before Victor could say okay.

-----------------The Wedding Area----------------

"Okay. See you here." Victor said, walking over by the preacher and, for once, giving him the truth.

"I understand." he said with a smile. Victor shook his head, you had to be a special kinda of guy to be so patient.

"There's the girls." Victor breathed a sigh of relief as they came up the walk. Piper and Paige were carrying Wyatt, Chris and bags. Victor took the bags and set them aside and took Chris from Paige and Piper set Wyatt down.

"You all look beautiful. Where are the guys?" Victor asked, looking around in time to see Leo coming up the path from the opposite direction. He waved behind him, probably a signal to Zankou and Kyle to wait a minute.

"You look great, Phebes. Do you want to wait over there or what?" Leo asked gently. Phoebe nodded and they vanished behind a grove of trees.

"Okay, guys!" Leo called back along the path. Zankou came out with Kyle urging him on. The usually cool demon was pale and sweating slightly. Victor smiled at him.

"Nervous?" he asked. Zankou nodded wordlessly. Victor put an arm around him and squeezed. "You'll be okay, just remember two words. 'I' and 'Do'. You'll do fine otherwise." Victor said. Zankou breathed deeply and nodded again.

"Let's hope so." Zankou said. Leo, who was best man, darted back behind the bushes, said something and then darted back behind Zankou. Wyatt walked up the path, holding a pillow with both hands, while Chris toddled after him, holding onto Wyatt's vest bottom. Wyatt took his place next to Leo, who took Chris over to Victor, who took him onto his lap. Piper and Paige came next, looking beautiful in sea green dresses with spaghetti straps.

"The music, please." the Preacher said. 'Here Comes The Bride' started playing and Phoebe walked around the corner. Zankou's eyes widened as she walked stopped at the end of aisle. Victor set Chris down, told him to stay put and trotted around the end of the crowd.

"Here, let me." Victor said, holding out his arm. He walked her down the aisle, towards a grinning like a maniac Zankou. He let go of her arm, kissed her on the cheek and pulled Chris into his lap again.

"This is not your average wedding. Two people from two very different worlds have come here together to become man and wife. They love each other and I'm sure will build a wonderful life together. There have never been two people more right for the other. Phoebe Halliwell, do you take Zan Koutaka as your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, now and forever?" Brendan Rowe asked. Phoebe smiled at Zankou.

"I do." she replied. Brendan repeated the vow to Zankou, who answered quietly, with a smile on his face.

"I do." he said. Brendan nodded and spoke to the gathering.

"Then it is done. By the power invested in me by the State of California and the Powers That Be," he said with a wink at Phoebe, who grinned in return. "I now pronounce you, Husband and Wife." he said. Zankou swept Phoebe up in a kiss that lasted for minutes. The cheers echoed and the birds took off at the sudden noise.

----------------The Reception---------------

Phoebe and Zankou walked out onto the dance of the P3 as the DJ began playing 'God Bless the Broken Road' by Rascall Flatts. Phoebe moved into Zankou's arms as they began to dance.

_I set out on a narrow way many years ago_

_Hoping I would find true love along the broken road_

_But I got lost a time or two_

_Wiped my brow and kept pushing through_

_I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you_

"What was with the winking thing?" Zankou asked, holding Phoebe closed. She smiled up at him.

"He's an old friend. He's a warlock who refuses to use his powers. We saved him from his brothers and he became a priest. Much to Prue's disappointment." Phoebe added. Zankou nodded.

_Every long lost dream led me to where you are_

_Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars_

_Pointing me on my way into your loving arms_

_This much I know is true_

_That God blessed the broken road_

_That led me straight to you_

Zankou breathed in the scent of her hair, strawberries and cream, closed his eyes and sighed. She was everything he wanted and more. Her spitfire had attracted his attention and her sweet side kept him there. He loved her and would only leave her if that was what she wanted. But he knew that she would never want that. He could easily see their children. Dark haired and fair skinned, they would break hearts, but Phoebe had stolen his.

_I think about the years I spent just passing through_

_I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you_

_But you just smile and take my hand_

_You've been there, you understand_

_It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true_

Phoebe could hear his heart beating through the cloth of his clothes, his heat was comforting and there was no place she'd rather be. He smelled like sweat, warm leather and something else that she couldn't quite place her finger on. Sulfur from his fireballs. That was it. Sweat, warm leather and sulfur. To many people that would be repulsive, but to Phoebe, that was heaven.

_Every long lost dream led me to where you are_

_Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars_

_Pointing me on my way into your loving arms_

_This much I know is true_

_That God blessed the broken road_

_That led me straight to you_

_Yeah_

Piper watched with a smile. Her little sister had finally found happiness and she knew that this relationship would turn out far from what had happend with Phoebe and Cole. Zankou would treat her well and never leave her side. That was as certain as her love for Leo and her boys and her family.

_Now I'm just rolling home into my lover's arms_

_This much I know is true_

_That God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you_

Phoebe laid her head on Zankou's shoulder as the song came to a close. She could never get him close enough.

Zankou tightened his arms around Phoebe, pulling her closer. He could never get her close enough.

_That God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you_

Applause broke out among the wedding party and the P3 staff as the song ended. Phoebe and Zankou seperated and left the dance floor as the other couples walked onto the dance floor.

"I think we'll head home, get our stuff before going to Paris." Phoebe said. Piper laughed.

"What about that cake that I spent so long baking?" Piper asked. Zankou smiled roguishly at her.

"I guess we'll just have to soundproof the bedroom." Zankou said. Piper grinned fiendishly.

"I guess you'll get to cracking on that tomorrow. You two can stay the night. We'll let the boys spend the night with Grandpa. Leo and I need some alone time together as well." Piper said. Paige was dancing close with Kyle. "The neighbors are going to think there's murdering going on tonight." Piper said. Zankou grinned, kissing Phoebe's neck.

"Or an orgy." he whispered in Phoebe's ear, making her blush.

----------------------------------------------------

Fin

----------------------------------------------------


End file.
